


Unexpected

by UnrealRomance



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Modern Girl in Dishonored, Modern Girl in Empire of the Isles, OOC depiction of the Outsider, To make him more dynamic and give him more character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-11 23:51:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 15,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12946746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnrealRomance/pseuds/UnrealRomance
Summary: The first chapter of this will make the Outsider seem...off by degrees, compared to the original from the games.That's kind of by design.Anyone who reads me, knows the drill. For anyone who doesn't, this is basically a story of a girl from our world who plays Dishonored, getting dropped into that world. She'll have choices to make, people to talk to and possibly save or doom-- knowing the future can be a hell of a burden or a glorious gift.Let's see which this will be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you would please imagine the Outsider as his latest incarnations, and not the first, I'd be much obliged.
> 
> Also, he's gonna be slightly OOC from the game.
> 
> My attempt at playing around with a god-who-used-to-be-human character.

Well…you can't say my dreams are boring, I guess.

I walk across the island of crumbling stone and stop at the edge to crouch down and peek over the side.

A sheer fall down to another island a bit below and to the side of this one. So if I didn't hit that and break every bone in my body, I'd free fall for several thousand, hundred-thousand…or so, feet.

' _God, how far down does it go?_ '

"The Void is endless," says a voice right behind me.

And since my fight-or-flight response is all fucked up and all I got is  _fight_ , I pivot and spring to my feet, one leg going back to the edge to- I dunno, wind up for a kick if it's necessary and I pause when I don't see anyone there.

"Hello?" I call out, softly.

' _Dream, duh, nothing can actually hurt you here. If you let it knock you off the edge or something, it'll be unpleasant as hell, stay calm._ '

"Interesting," the voice intones from…all around me? "When I first appear, people usually have the same reaction. Fear, confusion. You only feel…startled. And…curious, even."

I huff and cross my arms, "where am I?" If my dream is feeling informative, I might get something to write down for a new book.

Though this all looks familiar…like those floating rocks in the Fade from Dragon Age and the…

(' _The void is endless'_ )

Ohhh, I recognize this now, and that voice.

"You're The Outsider," I sigh. "And I don't even get to see your face, cause…that would be too easy, right?"

Lusting after video game characters is a hobby of mine. Fanfiction, fanart, the whole shebang.

Usually when I dream about them, there's always a catch. I don't get to do as I like, or I behave as if they're not even there or something- and even in the dreams when they're right there and my character avatar even gets to kiss them sometimes-

Well, then the dream usually devolves into a cavalcade of nonsense so I can barely remember the good parts.

My subconscious is against me.

"That was an interesting spike of emotion," he says as his disembodied voice floats around me. "You know of me, but there's no fear or a sense of religious fervor to the knowing. Not a worshiper, then."

"Nope," though if you want me to get on my knees-

' _God, shut up!_ '

I'm only like this when I'm dreaming. Everything gets untethered and I feel uninhibited. I hate it.

I mean, in my dreams, it feels great- but then when I wake up, I feel…icky. Like…well, I know it's just the oppression of women who aren't supposed to be sexual or- anything else that we are but aren't allowed to be that makes me feel that way.

That doesn't mean it still doesn't bother me.

There's a hum, "you don't feel familiar to me."

I shrug, "I wouldn't."

"You would," he responds. "Because all people touch the Void and if you are a person who has been living in the world since birth, I should've tasted you before."

Well that just makes me want to quip something incredibly unwise, and so I do, because it's a dream and I still have that freeing feeling. "You could taste me  _now_."

"I can," there's a hesitation. "It's almost like you've been birthed by the Void. Your essence is untouched by the world, filled with…the dark."

I sigh at his apparent incomprehension of my innuendo. "Cool, I've always been kind of Goth and Punk, that just…seems to fit." Wearing black with a small splash of color and practicing wicca, being a pagan…people aren't made of darkness though. We're made of nature and spiritual power and shadows and light enter and leave us throughout our lives. "But that's also not right, people aren't made of darkness."

"So maybe you aren't a person at all," his voice whispers from behind me.

I don't turn, because I know he probably won't be there when I do anyway. "Personhood is determined by consciousness, not the stuff you're made of."

"You know who I am, What I am," he says. Still behind me. I can almost feel him there, standing behind me, but…that's not possible, right? Why would he solidify just to talk to me if he could go without doing that?

Probably just to make me feel him standing there and tempt me to turn around. Testing and probing. Like he does to everyone with his mark. But I don't have his mark. I know that much. I'd have this sense of… _knowing_ , if I did.

"I know… _some_ of who and what you are," I reply.

"Am I a person?" he asks, so curiously.

My nose wrinkles, "of course you are."

A laugh, more like a chuckle. "That answer was so easy for you, how about a harder question?"

"Knock yourself out, I got all night, apparently," I haven't stayed in one place this long for a while in  _any_  of my dreams. It's always flitting from one scene to the next, and they aren't usually sequential.

"How did you get here?" he asks, and I feel him move. I think he just crossed his arms.

I bite my bottom lip and cross my own, "I'm dreaming."

Another chuckle, "are you sure about that?"

"Pretty damn," I respond. "Otherwise you wouldn't be here. You don't exist."

"Don't I?" He asks, and he sounds so amused. "Am I not speaking to you, right now?"

"You're a character, and my subconscious brought you to life, so to speak." I respond. "But…"

I pause and frown.

"But?" he's leaning closer to my back now, I think. Like he's leaning forward, eagerly awaiting my answer.

"Usually if I say the word 'dream' in any context, it all breaks apart and I wake up," I say. My mind is racing with questions and possibilities.

Have I reached another level of consciousness in my dreams? Will I remember this when I wake up?

"Maybe it's not a dream?" he says, more than asks, but there's still an upward tilt to it. "Or maybe you're dreaming in a world foreign to you."

I huff, "it  _has_  to be a dream. Magic isn't…like it is in the world with the Void in reality. It's subtle and…more the power of suggestion and herbalism than jumping from shadow to shadow."

"I'd love to hear more, but I believe your body is calling you," he says and shifts again- his hands…clasping behind his back, I think? Like how they usually end up when he paces?

Which means I'm about to wake up and the dream will end. "Okay, but I'm not leaving without something to remember and hang on to. If the whole dream dissolves in my memory and I'm going to remember one thing about this one," I pivot on my heel and grasp the lapel of his jacket. "It isn't gonna be you confusing the hell out of me."

I can see him, his face, his pitch black eyes.

I can even see the intrigue and surprise as I pull him down to my level and feel the sigh of the shadows around him when he realizes what I want- when my lips touch his and I feel the darkness like…a cool sheet being draped around me.

What surprises me most, is how his body leans  _into_  mine, hands still clasped behind his back, but pressing into me with his upper body.

And also just how fucking amazing he is at this, because isn't he supposed to be some untouchable god?

Well, dreams.

And as the darkness starts to eat away at my vision when I pull back and open my eyes to look at him from an inch away from his face, the last thing I see and hear is…

The edge of his mouth tipping up just a little bit as he says, "didn't expect  _that_."


	2. Chapter 2

I wake up, underground. And the only reason I instantly know I'm underground is because I can hear people walking around on top of wherever I am, and the only light coming in is from high up and to the side of the space I'm in.

Groaning, I sit up and survey the room, blinking to help my eyes adjust and rubbing sleep out of them when that's not enough.

It's barely lit up at all by those few cracks in the…walls? Tunnel? I'm not sure where I am…sewer?

I can see one of those sewer grate-things that cover the openings to those alcoves that are supposed to be for…whatever they're for…

And this one has a little wooden podium-table thing with a frayed black cloth draped over it and…is that a Rune?

It's about the size of the ball of my thumb. A hell of a lot smaller than in the game. And it's…not quite so rough-looking as those were, either. It's round, perfectly so- and smooth and tooled with the Outsider's Mark…

"Hey asshole, this yours?" I ask the open air.

" _There you are_ ," his voice whispers from the room around me. " _You disappeared almost as though you ceased to exist._ "

"What, like you can't find me?" I ask, surprised and a little dismayed. He's the  _Outsider_ , he isn't supposed to…I mean, he has limitations- but not  _those_  ones.

"You feel the same as the world around you," his voice echoes with presence and I turn with a jolt to see him standing there. "I told you that you were filled with the dark. Everything springs from the Void. You feel…" he paces forward and around me, hands curling together behind his back as he watches me with his void-black eyes. "…like you're made of the same stuff as stone and wood. Things that have grown from nature. Like the things cut down and carved and put into people's homes. People themselves…they're a bit detached from the Void, but you…are not."

"Don't suppose that means I have magical powers, does it?" I ask.

"If you do, what would you do with them?" he asks. Stopping to gaze at me with those incredibly black eyes.

"I dunno," I shrug. "I always wanted to be able to make magical objects and do magical things, cause you couldn't, where I'm from. Like I said, the magic there's…not really like… _magic_." Smiling, I lift one of my hands and imagine a flame in my palm, but nothing happens, "even if I can't, the fact that it's  _possible_ …"

"And what if I taught you how," he says.

I blink, "I'm probably not going to do anything that interesting. Just…nice things. Nothing groundbreaking, probably. I mean, not with magic. Magic shouldn't be used to change the world, that should be people…"

"You think you know what interests me," he says. "You're wrong."

"Well I'm bound to be sometimes, right?" I ask with a cheeky grin. "Human trying to understand and anticipate a  _god…_  gotta be  _kinda_  tricky, doesn't it?"

"What would you do,  _first_?" he asks, tilting his head. His arms are behind his back.

I hum and think about that, "that'd depend where we are in the timeline. What's Corvo up to, recently?"

He is still for a long moment, and I almost think he's surprised, or not going to answer me. But then he stands up a little straighter… "at the moment? He's currently breaking out of prison."

I blink, "oh… _shit_."

Right in the thick of it, then, aren't I? If I'm dreaming, it's a hell of a realistic one. One way to find out without like, jumping off a building.

Lifting my arm, I bite into my wrist, just enough to feel the pain. "Not dreaming, then."

"Interesting," the Outsider says from somewhere behind me.

I don't give him the satisfaction of startling. I'm too used to his game now. He shouldn't use that tactic so much.

"Not really. It's a common trick where I'm from, to test if you're dreaming," I reply. "I might be dead. Or in a coma. But everything is too sharp and feeling pain means I'm probably not either of those."

I hum uneasily, "that only leaves hallucination or real. And hallucinations…well, they don't just come out of left field. They slowly begin and steadily get worse…and I've never had a hallucination before. So."

"Real?" he's incredibly close behind me now, nearly whispering in my ear.

"Not getting tired of trying to spook me, yet?" I ask and roll my eyes. "Yeah…real. I mean. I should act like it is, even if it isn't. If it isn't, I'll have lost nothing…if it is and I behave like it isn't…well…that'd be bad."

"How so?" and he sounds so  _curious_.

"Well. If I operate under the notion I can fly and I can't, I die. If I operate under the notion I can't fly and can- I'll have lost the experience but actually risked nothing," I say and frown. "You were never this chatty…and you don't usually stick around this long."

"Oh," he makes that small breathless laughing sound that isn't quite a laugh but not quite a sigh or a scoff either. "I wasn't expecting you to know that, either."

And then there's…an emptiness in the air. Like all the…something, got sucked out of the room.

So I turn to check and…he's gone.

Now…what  _am_  I gonna do?

I'm gonna need a job or some kind of trade-- some way to make money and survive. Buy food. Pff.

The people who are organically  _from_ this world have a hard time in it...how the hell am  _I_ gonna survive?

I mean, I know the future, so I could probably profit off of that somehow. Time the robberies of places with Corvo's assassinations and whatnot. But...that's incredibly hard work that would require a specialized skillset.

Also, it'd probably be a good idea to have some fighting skills to do that kind of job...

So if I can't be a mercenary, thief or assassin-- because no. I just can't. I don't have the skill  _or_ the 'balls' for that, so to speak. I've never killed anyone, and real or not, I'm not starting now...unless someone threatens me or someone else first...

God, I'm already contemplating murder. The Outsider's right. The smallest push and people get...let's call it 'corrupted'.

Well. I do know how to make some basic poultices for physical ailments and I'm probably more qualified than the average doctor in this place, so I could also be a healer...but no. I think maybe that's too much pressure during the plague and I'd be expected to be around people with the Plague which would...be bad. I could catch it...

Ugh. I'll figure something out. For now...time to explore the sewer system.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you familiar with my work, you know I use the same general 'I don't care, I'm HERE' kind of reasoning for my characters who don't wanna go home and just do not care if it's real or not.
> 
> This is because I wanna focus on what the character does in that world, not on the why's and how's. There's always the possibility that one of my mains might end up snapping back to their world, but they aren't going to think about it. They aren't going to plan for it.
> 
> This is about the world of Dishonored and how a modern girl would affect it. Not how she wants to go home. I noticed that all the girls from modern worlds being dropped into the fictional ones were always crying and wanting to go home-- and in reality, the majority of us would absolutely be a mess there.
> 
> Hell, maybe all of us.
> 
> But I don't really like that aspect of those stories, so I decided to do it different. Nothing against anyone who writes it that way, of course. They still write really awesome stories, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

"Here you are, my dear," Madame Prudence is pretty nice when she thinks you can make her lots of money.

"Thank you, Madame," I reply with a smile.

I accept the black dress with an asymmetrical hem that I'd picked out of their costume room before my bath and slip into it behind the changing screen.

Oh I'm not a sex worker. I mean, that's a totally respectable job and everything, but I don't think I could do that. I'm kind of…terrified of men, usually. I mean, the real ones. Cartoon men were always…safe. You couldn't get dumped, raped or assaulted by a cartoon guy. Cause they aren't real.

And I just kind of kissed a god in my dreams like last night and I'm still freaking out about it. I mean, he could've probably sent Daud or Corvo after me or something-

Not that I think I'm that important, but still, it was a possibility. That he might have me 'smited' so to speak.

But then, I'm wondering…why didn't he?

He actually seemed  _receptive_ , or at least  _curious_ , which is weird. Maybe I just shocked him and he decided not to smite me because no one manages to surprise him? Who even fucking knows? Especially with him.

He never seemed to like surprises before. Seemed to be really irritated with them, in fact. Or at least, he was irritated with you refusing the mark, anyway...which he said was a surprise....

I dyed my hair dark red a while back, like…a month ago. The color hasn't really started to fade and my roots are barely noticeable, the dark brown my hair usually is probably won't be all that noticeable for a while.

As for the black dress and the Golden Cat's Madame…I decided to apply as a lounge singer.

And since I have red hair and pale skin like liquid paper, I figured, why not play up the goth angle? Wear black, paint my lips brighter red than my hair, do my eye make-up smoky and sharp over white face paint.

All I had to do was croon a few bars of some of my favorite, more low-key songs and the Madame was convinced. Which…okay, maybe it should've been harder than that, to convince a Madame in a Brothel to hire me exclusively to sing- especially as I'm not a professional singer.

But I did have Choir in high school and I have always loved to sing…so whether you'd consider me a professional or not, I do have the basics down, at least.

I was honestly a little shocked that I got the job so easily. I've always been told my voice was soothing, but I didn't think soothing would really do it. I was prepared to ask for a job waiting on people in a skimpy outfit.

There's not much else I could do that wouldn't be extremely dangerous, after all.

It could still be dangerous, I mean- high chaos, Corvo could come in here and murder everyone in the Golden Cat…

But I kinda have a plan…for that.

Sort of. I mean, it's not really a concrete, thing.

It's more just a thought.

"Come out come out, and let me see!" Madame Prudence exclaims.

And…as I step out…

" _Curious. That you would choose that specific dress…_ " is whispered in my ear.

I pause outside the screen for like a second and then smile brightly, walking out completely so Madame Prudence can see me.

While internally screaming 'what the fuck' over and over again in my brain.

' _He isn't supposed to talk to anyone like that except Billie unless they've got some kind of artifact- like a bone charm or something!_ '

"Oh yes, yes!" she says and claps her hands together. "Now…we just need a set of songs."

"If you let me work with your band, out there?" I gesture toward the door where we came in, "I can write up a few."

I've always been a natural at poetry. I could probably come up with  _something_  serviceable. If not, I could use…ones I remember. From back on Earth.

Which would kind of be cheating, but I'm trying to survive in a world where people are dying in scores on the streets due to some kind of magical plague, so. I think some form of cheating is allowed.

But back to freaking out- how the hell did he talk to me, just now?

"Oh I'm sure the boys can cook up something to match whatever you have in mind," she flashes her pearly white teeth at me. I'm pretty certain they're dentures, not because she's old, but because…she shows signs of a sickness. Not sure which one, or how it was caused-- for all I know, she might just have Cancer or something...but there is something definitely messing with her health.

She's ruthless and mean to her people and seems like the lowest kind of opportunist, but I still sympathize with the amount of pain she must be going through. If my plan goes through the way I hope it will, I'll fix everything and stop her from...doing what she does.

I might not be a murderer, but Corvo is.

If I can get little Emily on my side and convince Corvo to kill whoever needs killing in the Golden Cat to put me in charge- I can take over and make the business more ethical. Not to mention if I can garner enough power and followers to protect Emily from the betrayal that comes later, Corvo won't have a reason to kill me and in fact might go out of his way to protect me, for Emily.

So I mean, I'm not being completely altruistic…

I mean, I'd full on die for Emily, don't get me wrong. But this is as much for myself as for them, and I have to remember I'm no better than the lowest murderer here in this world.

Or I might become worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys let me know of all the things you wanna see in this story.
> 
> And by that I mean-- What is it you've been searching for in an Outsider/OC story?
> 
> I'm sure we've got some of the same ideas, but if we don't, it'd be great to have some inspiration directly from you guys, so I can make the story better for you all.


	4. Chapter 4

In the end, it was obvious what I had to do.

I am an ornery little shit when given the option to be- and I love giving authority the finger.

So when it came time to write a song…

I started with the Month of Darkness as a base and theme. Because what's better than writing songs that no one knows are inspired by the Outsider?

It isn't really because of my whole, obsession with his character or because I want him to hear them and know- I mean, he probably wouldn't without some kind of foresight into my mind, and apparently he has none…

I mean, he can't even find me if I'm not at a shrine, though…he is whispering to me every once in a while and that's worrying. Maybe he can talk to me even if he can't find me? Maybe he's found a way to keep an eye on me?

Why did he mention the dress?

Anyway, it's mostly because I remember this game being about the Outsider, but not in a way that would make it ALL about him. The Outsider was a framing device for the events happening, the catalyst for great change in a lot of ways. And he seemed to be pretty representative for everyone in the game who was ever a protagonist-- powerless in his own circumstances in a way, or at least we found out he was in DOTO.

Things would've happened without him, but maybe not in the exact way they did, or if they didn't happen…well. Anyway, the people he marks are of a very specific variety.

He said there were like, eight others, besides Daud in Dishonored 2…but is that eight, ever?

No, he said in the world right now, right? Besides Daud. So…eight that still lived?

There was that unnamed woman, the lonely Rat boy, Delilah may not have actually been marked. She might've pulled the same thing as that…other guy, what was his name? Started with a Z…

Zhu…something. Eh, I'm sure it'll come back to me at some point.

Anyway, the few we know of, follow a pattern.

Corvo climbed high and got smacked back down.

Daud needed the mark to make something of himself and others.

The unnamed woman, we don't know about. The Lonely Rat boy was a child who was afraid and powerless…

Delilah was a castoff of the royal family, used and abused by many people before she clawed her way to the top.

I'm sure the others are the same. I don't know if he does it because he's got some sense of justice, or just for the lulz, but it seems to be a kind of mixture of the two.

He loves seeing the people on bottom sow chaos, but then…well.

So do I, really.

"Miss Darcy," Emily holds up a small piece of paper from her place on the floor. I got her some invitation cards from a shop for cheap so she could practice her calligraphy on that kind of paper. She's still going through the cheapest paper but tries it on the cards every once in a while. "How does it look?"

Like a child wrote it, which is…I mean, she's getting  _better_. "Better than it did before, you're improving fast."

She smiles absently and starts drawing on the scrap papers she's put aside, finished with her practice.

Madame Prudence and the others don't know I come in here.

If they need me, I usually get a whisper-

" _They're looking for you. It's best they don't find you here,_ " like that.

"I gotta go, Ems," I smile regretfully. "Keep practicing your calligraphy and the other stuff I showed you, okay? Hide your stuff."

She nods and begins gathering all her materials as I walk to the window I got jimmied open.

"Are you…sure?" she says as I climb out and settle on the ledge outside.

She's leaning against the wall there, watching me intently. "That father is alive, and coming for me?"

I smile, "the Outsider marked him, and he won't give up. He'll be here, I promise."

She smiles back, "then I'll be good, so I can help him when he gets here, like you said."

Handing her drawings and calligraphy paper over to me, then putting the rest of her stuff away under a loose floorboard, she hums.

I shove the folded up papers in my purse and slowly strafe along the ledge to the nearest window ledge, peering inside and sighing in relief.

Mia is in there, but she's blissed out on something, again. So she won't notice me.

Poor Mia is probably going to overdose on something soon. I don't know what can be done for her right now. I'm basically as powerless as she is. Even if I had power, the most I could do is forbid her from using and possibly kick her out for it, and I don't want to do that.

Addicts aren't to blame for not being able to stop.

I just need to get a hold of her source and regulate it. Something. Some of the other girls are using whatever it is, too.

Climbing in the window as carefully as I can, I make sure to close the window quietly behind me.

I've been caught out in the corridor here, but I usually use the excuse of taking a walk. If I got caught inside Mia's room itself, it might be more difficult to  _use_  that excuse.

So I very quickly and carefully leave the room, shut the door behind me and take off down the hall. It's hard to go unnoticed when everyone pays extra close attention to everyone walking around.

It's almost like they sniff each other out and with me…with me they always watch extra close. Like they sense that I'm an interloper. Gotta find Madame Prudence. Can't have it look like I'm hiding on purpose.


	5. Darcy POV, Billie POV

"Why are you being so weird, and how do you keep talking to me during the day?" I ask the drifting Outsider.

I mean, he's literally walking like he's floating, across the small island I'm sitting on, cross-legged, having given up on trying to navigate the place.

"Am I behaving strangely to you?" he asks as he paces. Glancing at me every now and again out of the corner of his eyes or turning his head fully to look at me as he flashes to somewhere else to begin pacing  _there_.

"Well yeah, for one thing you're responding to me," I reply. "You never do with Corvo or Emily or Daud…I mean. The most you do is say things that answers their questions sometimes without directly addressing them…" Or comment on how surprising their refusal of the mark is. "The only person you've really spoken to at any length is Billie and you did the cryptic thing to her…talking like you're answering her without actually…" It's not like I could tell him something he doesn't know, right? He sees 'forever', or whatever.

"Do I?" he says and hums. "I suppose that _is_ what it would look like."

I frown and tilt my head, crossing my arms, "so…that's not what you're actually doing? Then why does it seem like that?"

"You're clever," he says. "Figure it out."

The last glimpse I have is of his smug, slightly smirking face before I blink open my eyes and find myself in bed, staring at my ceiling. In the Golden Cat.

The Golden Cat doesn't have many amenities for the girls, but seeing as my health is paramount, the Madame got me a good bed and dressers and shit for my room. Probably taken from one of the rooms used for…'fun'.

So I'm comfortable and warm, at least…also possibly lying on old, washed-out, gross sex stains…

And I feel terrible that I can't help the other girls yet. I mean, I have no power over their day-to-day. That will come later. Hopefully.

Breathing deeply, I throw back the covers and slip out of bed, ready to begin the day. Well. Not  _ready_.

 _Resigned,_  really.

I have the cushiest job here, and the Madame protects me to keep my voice…and my talents for writing songs, safe. But make no mistake, she'll steal all my songs and have me killed if I step a toe out of line. This is maybe the one of the most dangerous jobs I could get…but since I don't intend to act up till Corvo gets here…

I figure I'm _mostly_ safe.

* * *

 

Billie Lurk POV

"I don't…I don't understand…" Daud said the Outsider only ever speaks to him at shrines anymore- and-and that he's never really able to talk to him, anyway.

But I…I'm not at a shrine. Am I?

"Billie Lurk…" he sighs my name and leans against a crumbling wall, watching me with pitch-black eyes. "I never intended for us to meet so early, but I have a task for you."

All of the confusion is pushed aside, for a moment. To consider that this…should be what I want. Has  _been_  what I've wanted…for so long.

But now that the moment is here, now that he's…actually here.

I'm afraid.

Afraid of whatever expectations I might have to live up to- a  _god's_ expectations. What will I do if I can't? What will  _he_  do, if I can't?

"What…task is that?" I ask.

He disappears in a wisp of smoke and…glittering shards of darkness. Then reappears nearer to me.

I jolt and step backwards, he looks away. He almost seems perturbed by my startling at the sight of him appearing like that. Is that disrespectful somehow?

"There is a woman named Darcy Donnel, at the Golden Cat. I'm not sure if it's her real name, or one she's affected. Either way…I need her watched," his voice is so…low. Whispering and soft. Like a child at the Abbey, afraid to be caught talking with their friends while the priests speak.

"Watched…as in?" am I supposed to kill this woman? Take something from her when she's not looking?

"She works in a very dangerous place for very dangerous people. She thinks she's subverted the danger, but she doesn't see the others hiding in the shadows, the places where she can't see because she's never been there," he says.

"You want…me to…protect her? This…Darcy, woman?" I ask.

So far as I know,  _that's_  never happened before. The Outsider has only ever given Daud information in cryptic ways, things he didn't really even need to know. Like he was…well. Gossiping.

Daud says he never really ever asked for anything. Even this whole thing with 'Delilah' is supposed to be…some kind of gift, not a demand or a task.

"I can't see what becomes of her, there are no branching paths to watch. Wherever she goes, my eyes turn dark," he says. "Whether she lives or she dies, her paths…I need to see them, but I can't. I can see my Marked, but everyone else…fades."

My heart pounds at the mention of the mark and then leaps into my throat when I feel an itching, burning sensation in my left hand.

I hiss and pull my hand up, cupping it as the Outsider's mark burns itself into my skin.

"I only need you to watch her," he says. "Anything else you do, is your choice."

I nod and a thought occurs to me… "are you only asking  _me_ …because Daud…is hunting Delilah?"

His lips turn up at the edge and his head bows a little, "I am asking  _you_ , because she said your name."

And then...he's gone.


	6. Darcy POV, Billie POV

I've felt…someone's eyes on me, all week.

I don't know what's going on, if the Outsider is around or if it's someone else, but when I dream and ask the Outsider if he's watching me during the day…his only response is, 'only when you're wearing that dress, Darcy'.

Which…what? Why? What's special about it and why does he keep mentioning it?

I tried looking it over while I was putting it on before a show, but there was nothing. It's just a black dress with an asymmetrical hemline and plunging neckline without sleeves- it's like a halter top, it fastens around my throat…

I don't get it. But whatever, it'll probably end up becoming clearer over time. The Outsider doesn't mention things like that for no reason, right? I wear a different one to mingle, that's just…my performance dress. And thinking about the fact that he can see me when I'm singing about him isn't unsettling at all…

"Oi, what's 'is? Never seen 'is one out on the floor b'fore!" a man attempts to grasp my arm and is thwarted by another patron stepping between us.

"Careful, Numhan," he says and smiles at me with gold-and-silver capped teeth. "This one is the songbird. Off-limits and all that."

"Gar…you're sure you wouldn't like to drink with us?" the first man wobbles dangerously on his feet. Hair limply plastered to his face.

I grimace, "I think maybe you're about to fall over."

"Indeed it seems he is," the guy next to me says amiably. "Shall I just take you over to one of the chaise longues?"

"'m fine!" the man insists, flapping his wrist at us. "Jus' need anover drink!"

"There are some, over there!" I point haphazardly at a drinks table.

He chuckles and doffs his hat at me, "much obliged, milady Songbird."

And then he totters over to the drink table, leaving myself and…whoever the fuck this guy is…

"Ah I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure," he says and holds out a hand.

It's polite to let men kiss your hand nowadays, but I…kind of hate it. Because I have no choice. Not because the action itself is repellent to me. I mean, it's a romantic move if done by someone you actually  _like_  and know well…

I reach out my hand to put in his and brace for the move, but he simply puts his other hand over mine and squeezes, grinning at me with his glinting teeth. It's actually kind of charming. Especially since he didn't kiss my hand. "I am Lars Varain, of Fraeport."

I have no idea where that is, other than in the Empire of the Isles, I hate those damn maps- they're pretty and nice to wallpaper with but not for actually learning where everything is.

"I'm Darcy Donnel, of Dunwall," I respond. I liked the pun in my new name, and the alliteration is funny, too. I don't know why I'm like this.

"Born here were you?" he asks with a wide smile.

I shake my head, "no, but it's home now. No sense in looking back. I don't intend to ever return where I'm from anyway."

Even at its shittiest and most dangerous, I'd prefer a world with mythical beings and magic over mine, any day.

"Dunwall can be charming in its own way, of course," he says. Then hums, squeezing my hands a bit tighter, "strange though. That you'd choose to come here now, of all times."

It's a little creepy, but maybe he's just being emphatic. "Uh, well I-"

And that's when I feel a pinprick and a cold sensation in my arm.

My voice leaves me, the world turns hazy and sort of...

* * *

 

Billie Lurk POV

I don't know what, but somethin' seems off about that guy shakin' her hand.

I'm holed up in the building next door, using the windows and ledges to keep her in my sights, as well as…well.

The mark gives me a lot of fun abilities that I had…a blast, practicing with before I found her.

The Songbird of Dunwall, everyone's calling her.

She makes the rich and noble fat cats happy, anyway. Sings a couple songs, maybe…three performances a day. One in the morning, one at noon, one at night.

I caught one yesterday. She switches out the songs from morning to noon to night, so it's just three different songs being sung at different times- and everyone seems so…taken, by that.

Artistry, or whatever.

The first clue I have that the guy leading her around isn't on the level, is when she stumbles.

He pulls her upright, alright, with a hand somewhere it shouldn't be. And she has no reaction. Which is weird, especially for her. She usually at least goes red and smacks their hand away, says something- she's got the Madame's protection, so she can do that much, at least.

But she has dead eyes now, and-ah!

I snap back into my body, having reached the limit for my new ability. Can't go too far or be out of my body too long. I need to eat or…oh, right.

I pull one of the potions out of the pouch on my hip. I always forget these things…

Probably because they taste terrible.

I down it and move out of the window I was looking through, climbing up to the roof using the transversals I've always used…but it's…different, now.

I feel it deep down in my soul, in a way I didn't before. Before…before it was like an echo of the Void and now, I'm actually hearing its voice for the first time.

It's not  _his_  voice, though. It's the whispering of a thousand voices through the ages, all of them completely unintelligible, but somehow familiar.

Also it's less, flashing forward and more…switching places with someone who isn't there.

I don't know what that means…I just feel like that's the way to describe it. Like a…displacement, instead of a transversal.

Daud did say that everyone is unique and gets unique abilities. He used to go around to all the shrines…some of 'em had…like, journals sitting around.

Makes you wonder what happened to the people who built 'em. The Abbey or the Outsider? I wonder which would be worse.

I climb across the roof, around ledges, following the path that guy is taking- every once in a while stopping to use my…uh…foresight, to see where he's taking her.

Looks like they're on the second floor…and he's steering her toward one of the open rooms.

Shit, what do I do?

Uh…I can't take someone's face, there's too much activity, I'd get found out too soon. I can't kill everyone on this floor, that's too much attention and there's a lot of targets.

I can't displace into the room with them without a sight-line or at least without using foresight to see inside and I need a window to be able to see the spot I can displace into or something- but those rooms have the biggest fucking windows, I could be spotted by him.

Maybe he'll be too busy with his 'prize' to notice me.

I mean, I don't have to do anything, I'm sure he won't… _kill_  her.

But I can't…won't…let this happen. Even if I hadn't seen her sneaking around and bringing that kid in the Cat extra food and shit-

She doesn't deserve this. No one does.


	7. Chapter 7

I wake up in my bed. And consequently have a panic attack.

Curling up at the foot of my bed, I pat myself down, looking for bruises, moving my legs and arms to test for soreness…but I don't find anything.

Even going into the bathroom to check myself for anything…left…on me- gets me nowhere. It's like nothing happened.

But I can remember that something happened.

I mean, I don't remember  _who_ or when or how...but I remember a man...and then feeling alarmed- feeling cold...and then...dark.

' _Maybe he just…wore a condom and wasn't rough_ ' I think, numbly.

Oh god, I'm trying to explain why my rapist didn't leave a mark. What the fuck even is this? There's always  _something_ , I should at least be  _sore_.

Maybe they knocked me out for some other reason? I inhale sharply and shove myself off the floor of the bathroom, grabbing my robe off the coat rack and putting it on as I leave the room.

It's the middle of the night, so the guards will probably be on limited rotation on the third floor…they tend to focus on the bottom two floors at night.

I don't think the Madame thinks it's possible that someone could come in from the roof.

Making my way slowly down the hall and then up the stairs through the stairwell is difficult to do without making a noise. I don't normally come from this way, I go through the window. I don't usually use any room on the third floor as an entry, just an exit. Cuts down on the chances I might get caught.

Opening and closing Emily's door without making noise is almost as hard as the stairwell doors. It's an old door, no matter how well-maintained and tends to creak just a little. I only have to swing it open a little and slide inside, so it makes only a slight noise.

There are still shows going on downstairs, girls putting on dances for men. There's a man or two here that works the floors but women are the…dominant commodity, I guess is the way to say it.

I creep slowly across the floor, comforted by the thought that my footsteps are probably hidden in the noise from downstairs for the most part.

And there she is, sleeping in bed, completely fine.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I settle slowly and silently on the edge of her bed. Which isn't easy, cause, you know- squeaky springs. The Madame didn't make sure Emily was as comfortable as I am. Which  _kills_ me a little inside…

I reach out, fingertips brushing hair away from Emily's face.

" _There you are,_ " the Outsider's voice whispers.

Yanking my hand back, I look around the room, but…he's not…there…

Narrowing my eyes at that and slowly putting my hand over Emily's next to her face, I jolt internally at the way the shadows become deeper.

And there he is, over in the corner, watching us.

"What the hell, 'sider?" I ask sleepily. Softly, so Emily doesn't wake up.

" _I wonder to what you refer,_ " he says.

His voice is whisperier and he's…sort of half-disappearing into the shadows.

"Why are you…faint? And why does touching Emily mean I can see and hear you? That usually takes bone charms, or something," I say. "Or the dress, whatever's up with that."

" _I'd check dear Emily's hand, if I were you,_ " his voice shimmers in the air, not quite as present as usual…like he's speaking in my head instead of in my ear…

So I do, and I find her fingertips just barely curled around a shard of bone with some designs carved into it.

I pull it out of her hand and stand up, nearly startling at the fact that he's suddenly beside me, solid now.

"She wanted to talk to me, but I feel it isn't time for us to meet. It may never be, if fate stays on its current course…" he says. "Interesting though, she got into the Void in her dreams."

"I'll explain how dangerous it is to her, soon," I sigh. "I didn't think I'd need to do that, I mean…"

Pausing, I wait until Emily's breathing goes back even and turn toward the door, taking hold of the Outsider's wrist and tugging him behind me.

I am all the way outside with him next to me, closing the door with my hand still wrapped around his wrist before I even realize I'm touching him.

Acting on instinct and prowling to avoid waking sleeping family members comes naturally. And there were times when I had to lead someone around after dark…so I guess instinct just took over. And now I'm freaking out.

Don't wanna just drop his arm like a hot potato, that's kind of insulting, but he doesn't seem to invite touch?

The only times he's touched people, it wasn't because he precisely wanted to, I think.

So my brain goes blank and I just kind of look up at him, with wide eyes. Standing next to me, observing me with curiosity or some other benign emotion brimming in his eyes. Nothing like anger, which is a relief…but also…

"You tend to let me drag you around a lot," I blurt quietly and then wish I could curl up and die. Cause the last thing I need right now is to remind him of the  _last_  time I touched him.

He tilts his head and then disappears in a shimmer of those rocks and that smoke that he always poofs away in. Which is weird, cause my hand is suddenly clenched around air- that is a strange sensation…

Okay then.

But I still don't know what happened to me last night. Looks like I'm chasing down the Outsider in my dreams tonight to get answers.

Even if he can't see  _me_  a lot of the time, or if I'm hard to find or whatever, he probably at least knows… _something_.


	8. Outsider POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

"Don't flash away when I'm talking to you! Hey!" She's been chasing me all night. "What the hell, 'sider!"

She stops to gasp for breath, her dream-body suddenly convinced that she is winded. Slurring my name once again.

"Quit imposing reality on me!" she shrieks. "I just want to know if I got…I just want to know what happened to me last night!"

I do wonder how she knows that I can alter the effects of the void on her dream-self.

It's entertaining to watch her navigate the void. Hopping from rock to rock, much faster and quieter than any other who passes here- able to leap further than others would be able to, even when I am… 'imposing reality', she rises to the challenge with…

Well. Perhaps not  _grace_. But intuition, innovation and aplomb.

In fact, around me seems to be the  _only_ time she acts with confidence.

She will shout at me, she will speak to me without reverence or any kind of respect…

It is  _glorious_  to speak to someone without that division between us. It has been literal ages since I've had the pleasure.

I've been worshiped. I've been despised.

It's been so long since I was simply a person to someone.

Always so suspicious of my motives, but so ready to listen to any gossip I have to give her.

She will even discuss with me what this gossip  _means._ At  _length_.

"I will tell you what happened last night," I solidify my body behind her and she goes still.

She caught on rather quickly to my game. And she plays well.

"On one condition," I step closer, speaking lowly.

"Condition being?" she asks, drooping.

"A question for a question." Whispering into her ear, just behind her and so close…

"You're doing the thing again," she says with an oddly wavering voice.

I can taste the emotions in the endless sea of void around us. Something warm and shivery…I've felt it from others before, directed at myself…but never like this. Never without that air of spice that means 'fear' or the tang of gold coins on my tongue that means 'useful'.

"When we first met, you surprised me," I say. "I want to know why."

"You…what?" her dream self is turning red and she lashes around, stepping back to put space between us.

Disappointing.

"I want to know why," I can feel some of my selves tilting their head at her, some others cocking an eyebrow…a few do nothing but stare…

Am I one of those few, or one of those tilting or cocking? Always so hard to tell.

She reacts the same way, regardless. "I didn't think you were real, and I…" She is turning a very dark shade of red, now. "I'm sorry."

All versions of me react to that with no facial expression but…there is a resounding across the Void. Of surprise.

"I never expressed any opinion on the action in one direction or the other," I remind her. Wondering if she thinks I'm angry with her.

If I were, how would she react? I wish I could  _see_  it.

"It isn't about that…" she says and then hangs her head, her shoulders hunching. "If I'd known you were real, I wouldn't have…done that. I didn't…ask. I just…I just kind of hauled you in and didn't really give you a choice. I mean, the whole 'god that could smite you' issue aside…"

So this is what guilt feels like, experienced by someone of high moral caliber. I have felt the pain of the wretched and the downtrodden, but this is…a new flavor.

Sharp and smelling of gunmetal, tasting of…something salty, like sweat upon the brow of a man on death row.

"I don't smite," is my answer. "If I were to desire to kill you, I would see what fates would lead to your death and then orchestrate those fates. It would still be your choices that led you to it, regardless…and there are worlds in which you wouldn't have fallen for the bait."

"Worlds…?" she speaks slowly and with widening eyes. "Wait. Are you…do you exist…simultaneously in all realities connected to the Void?"

Ah, she  _is_  clever.

"More or less," I respond.

She is already doing some kind of calculations in her head, eyes darting to and fro. "That…that's why you're so cryptic! You're replying to every instance of a person that ever existed!"

"Bravo," several versions of me smirk, others simply fold my hands behind my back.

I wonder which I am.

"So wait…do I only exist in one universe?" she asks, so curious. Burning for answers, but never demanding them, usually.

This new…chase tactic…is strange. She would normally accept my silence on matters.

She seemed to be disturbed by the thought of someone displacing her into her room last night. She was obviously unharmed, so I see no need for her to be upset. I suppose it is one of those mortal foibles I no longer remember.

"No. You exist in as many as I do, in fact," strange phenomena that has never been true before. "It's simply that every version of you always reacts to everything the same way, no matter what I do."

"That…doesn't sound right," she says, quizzical.

"You've only just begun," I tell her. "It's as if you were first born here when we met. As time goes on, I assume your other selves will make different choices."

She frowns. "No…if it's the me that came here to begin with, some horrible things would have to happen to make that…" her expression goes slack and she pales. "Are…are there some worlds where what happened last night…happened worse?"

"No," I respond. "In any world where you and I both exist, and I was able to mark Billie Lurk…you were saved. I cannot see any other realities where this isn't true."

She stares at me, "marked…Billie…Lurk?"

"Yes," I reply.

"I…and she saved me?" she frowns. "Why?"

"I believe she found what he intended to do with you, personally objectionable," I respond.

Billie believes I value Darcy and want her protected. And while that may not be completely untrue…she made the choice herself.

In every reality, Darcy has now been saved by Billie Lurk.

"Where's…where's Billie now?" she asks.

It isn't my place to interfere.

So I leave, once again.

"OH COME ON!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To faithfully portray the Outsider from the inside, I'd need to like...write in sixteen dimensions. So this is the best I can do in just one...how did you guys like it?
> 
> *cringes*


	9. Chapter 9

"High Overseer!" I jolt backwards a bit when I glance up and see him there.

Campbell? What the hell!?

"Ah don't mind me, little Songbird," he says with a grin that I think he thinks is charming. "I was enjoying your wonderful voice."

I've been doing scales in the early morning before everyone gets up, to waste the time I have just sitting around before doing my first performance of the day.

 _He_  isn't showing his face today, and I wonder if it's because I chased him through the Void so much that he doesn't want to get close again. That bums me out and infuriates me at the same time.

Or maybe it's because the Overseer is here? Can he not appear in his presence? Does he not  _want_  to?

I hate that I'm obsessing over him like this. I feel weird about it. It reminds me of Sokolov…

And the Eyeless.

"I'm not really singing any particular song, can't imagine it's all that enthralling," I say. My nervousness is showing in my voice, I think.

He grins gamely and sits down on the piano bench beside me. Not close enough to be inappropriate to anyone watching or walking by…

But it puts me on edge.

"I think you underestimate the beauty of your voice." He leans on the piano, shutting the cover over the keys and almost catching my fingertips in the process. "It's so beautiful in fact, that I felt compelled to follow the sound…"

His grin is more of a threat than before. "It feels a bit like the song bone charms give off, in fact."

What?

I think my honest confusion shows on my face, and I let it, "it does?"

"Oh indeed it does!" he tells me so excitedly. "One would almost believe you'd been blessed by the Outsider…"

"If he was gonna bless me, he could've just given me the power to turn everything I touch to gold or something," I deadpan. "Magical singing powers only get you so far, I'd imagine. But money?" A smile crawls over my face, "now money…will get you everywhere."

" _How right you are,_ " the Outsider's voice is both a relief…and fucking panic-inducing. Because don't Overseers have ways of detecting Void powers or something? Or was that just those sisters?

"You have it all wrong there, my dear," Campbell says while he grins at me. "Power takes you places, but money is only one way to get that power. Many turn to…other means."

"Not me," I reply flippantly and flick the board covering the keys back up. "If I don't do it myself, then what's even the point?"

"High Overseer," the Madame comes marching over from the grand spiral staircase. "You are quite early today."

"Events in the city are making me antsy and I could use some relaxation before my duties become overly demanding," he replies and stands from the piano bench.

"It's good you're here," the Madame says. "I need you to talk to that girl again," she's saying quietly to him as they walk away and I turn my attention back to the piano keys.

And jolt, because he's right there. Leaning back against the piano, sitting next to me on the bench. "Jesus, 'sider."

He's always a  _little_  bit see-through when he manifests and I'm wearing the dress, but he looks…mostly there.

Staring after the Overseer and the Madame, he…tilts his head and there's a strange glimmer in his eyes.

When he speaks, I hear the restrained…anger? In it. "Do you know what he plans to do with our dear Emily?"

"You mean the puppeteering?" I ask quietly, glancing around to be sure no one's around. "Yeah, but…Emily is going to be rescued by Corvo and then…"

"You don't, do you?" He's looking at me and his features are twisted up in some kind of silent agony. "Pray tell, Darcy…why would they hide her in a bordello?"

And then he's gone, and I'm suddenly…really wishing he wasn't.

"'Sider? What do you mean?" I huff a sigh, "even if you can't tell me…you can still stay. I know…you like to listen to me sing."

And…there…

He's appearing against the far wall with his arms crossed again.

"You don't have to put a whole room between us when I sing," I smile and put my fingertips on the keys. Shivering in surprise and trying not to gasp and jump when he's suddenly beside me, again.

This time turned toward me and staring attentively at my face.

Okay yeah, that's less…unnerving from a distance.

But this is just how he is. Inhuman and everything. It doesn't really bother me. No one else can see him, so they can't see him staring like that.

So I just close my eyes, and start up the new tune for the song I'm working on. Something I wanted to put into the rotation, maybe just once at lunch for now.

Something based on the same theme as the month of darkness, with the same mood and tone…

Eerie, dark and kind of mysterious.

"I wouldn't sing a song like that while the Overseer is nearby," a whisper in my ear stills my hands on the keys.

And when I open my eyes, he's closer. Sitting right next to me, almost…nuzzling my hair.

Turning my head is a bad idea because now we're face-to-face. And I'm just a little bit stuck, looking into his eyes…tracing the lines of his face…

I don't even register that it must look like I'm staring off into space until a door opens and closes-

And he dissipates into the air.

My hand actually reaches out to drift across his face before he's completely gone, without my direction. I definitely didn't tell it to do that.

"Impertinent, disobedient…" the Madame is muttering as she walks the Overseer to one of the rooms, apparently done with checking on Emily.

I should go check on her…

"She will be much easier to control once she's been properly broken," the Overseer replies. "It won't be much longer now."

And I stop on my way out of the hall- pausing to lean against a wall.

( _Once's she's been properly broken_ )

Oh.

( _Properly **b** **roken**_ )

Hell.

( _Why would they hide her in a bordello?_ )

_No._

All at once, all the plans I ever had, no longer matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys!
> 
> Just wanted to let you know, I'm letting everyone on all my stories know-
> 
> I'm writing an interactive novel!
> 
> You can go to the Tumblr at AetherialIdentity.tumblr.com or you can follow my progress on Patreon!
> 
> https://www.patreon.com/UnrealRomance


	10. Chapter 10

"Are we really going to find Corvo?" Emily is very good at never accidentally referring to Corvo as 'father' in public.

I took everything from my room that I could sell, plus a few changes of clothes, among other things…and I grabbed her and ran.

Wasn't actually difficult. Especially not with Billie killing guards in locations that I needed emptied so we could just walk out. She was actually pretty excited to help- to see what I had planned…

I think maybe she thinks I'm more than I am…that's worrying.

"I'm gonna find him, while you hide. The people who helped him get out of prison are trying to use him, but he doesn't know that," I put a finger over my lips. "I have to be careful only to tell him what he needs to know. I already…messed it up a lot by rescuing you prematurely."

"Why did you?" she asks, so curious. Like children always are. But says it like an adult would. An adult asking a philosophical question wouldn't sound as serious as she does.

"Because you are a child, and you should be happy and free…not turned into a political pawn," I say.

You shouldn't be hurt. You shouldn't be afraid. You shouldn't feel the immense terror that all little girls feel when a man-

I kind of hate Dunwall. A lot, right now.

"Anyway, I've been meaning to talk to you about something," I pause in our walk. "But first, I think you should be introduced to someone."

I glance around and wave my hand in a come-here gesture.

"What are you doing?" Emily is laughing at me.

Until Billy appears in front of us. In a puff of Void magic.

Then she gasps and clings to me.

"It's okay, Emily…" I kneel down and take her shoulders.

She's staring at the Whaler mask, I know.

"The Outsider was really miffed when your mother died," I say.

She looks at me, finally, with wide eyes. "He…he didn't want my mother to die?"

"I don't think so, no," I shake my head and smile. "I'm not perfectly sure of what I know about him, but I think…either it caused a lot of chaos he didn't like…or he just really liked her."

Because she was kind.

Because she was powerful and tried to do better than those before her.

Because she was exactly the kind of person he wanted his marked to be.

At least, that's what I assume.

"Why are they here?" she asks finally, looking back at Billy.

I gesture at her to take the mask off, and she does. Reluctantly.

At this juncture, Billy is still of the mind that Daud is showing weakness- she hasn't had her own realization that he's right, yet.

I think maybe some of it is sinking in as she stares back at Emily, though.

"This is Billie Lurk," I gesture at Billie and smile. "In another world, in another time…a long time after now…she tries to help you. To make up for everything. You decided her fate then, in many worlds…and she let you."

Emily looks at Billie with surprising comprehension. "I executed her for killing my mother?"

Billie goes still.

"In some worlds," I reply. "In others, you showed mercy."

Billie is looking off to the side of us, a little bit. Sort of behind and beside me?

"'Sider if you're cutting in, it'd be nice if you could do so when the rest of us can see you," I say. A little flatly and with a sardonic edge.

I haven't seen him since we escaped, and it's starting to grate on me.

Especially as I can  _feel_  the sighing shadows brushing against my skin every once in a while.

There it goes again, and…

"What?" I quirk my brow at Billie and the sigh against my cheek disappears.

Her wide eyes slowly narrow. "Did the Outsider tell you all that about…other worlds?"

"Yes and no," I reply. "It's a complicated situation and if I explained it, you either wouldn't believe me…or you would, and you'd likely have some kind of existential crisis."

"Are you a god, too?" she asks. Surprisingly.

And it makes me laugh. So hard.

"It was a reasonable question!" she insists loudly.

Emily giggles with me.

"It's just…" I clear my throat, "I mean, I don't even really believe in 'gods' the way everyone else does…so that's doubly hilarious."

"So what are you, then?" she asks, putting her hands on her hips.

I grin, "nobody special like you're thinking."

"I think you're special," Emily says, completely serious.

I snort a little bit, I can't help it. "Well thanks, but I was talking about being like…celestial and magical."

"Oh," she says and blinks. "So…where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe from the plague and looters and everyone else," I say. "I hope. Then…well, then I have to find Corvo, tell him where you are and that you're safe…and still urge him to continue his crusade."

"Is Corvo…killing people?" she asks.

"He might be, but I'm not sure," I shrug. "Alternate realities."

"Isn't that…isn't it wrong?" she asks. "But…he was the Royal Protector…so did he kill for mother, too?"

She looks down at her hands. "Will he kill for me, next?"

"This is one of those things we need to talk about," I say and smile. "There's a lot of things I need to teach you, and not much time to do it in."

"Teach me?" she looks up at me. "About what?"

"About being a Leader. The kind of Leader that actually does  _good_ for their people, instead of just holding everything together," I say. "I'm gonna teach you everything I know about how to fix society. And even if you can't do it all, you can at least get it started. If you want to. But I know you're a good girl, and you want to help your people."

She hugs herself a little then, "mother wanted to help…and they killed her."

"Don't ever mistake kindness for weakness, Emily," I kneel down on her level to look her in the eye. "People who are kind, have been through the worst life has to offer and they say 'screw you, I'm gonna help people anyway', 'who cares if there's pain, it's worth it'." Smiling, I hold out my hand. "They say, 'A lot of people may suck, but some of them are okay. And I refuse to let them pay the price for other people's sucky-ness'."

She giggles and takes my hand, "my mother would want me to be kind…like she was. And I've…been through bad things." She seems so thoughtful. "But what if I'm just not a kind person?"

I sigh, "truth is, there is no such thing as inborn goodness and badness. Goodness and badness are  _choices_. You get to make those choices and then live with whatever consequences result. And sometimes…sometimes the good choice, is not the easy choice. Sometimes it's more dangerous, sometimes it hurts you. And no one can expect you to be perfect and always choose good all the time…but when you do good, or bad, it's a choice."

She nods, "I'll remember."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is shaping up to be twice as long as usual, so that's something to look forward to.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank LoS for this chapter as I'd forgotten I'd had it finished before they commented and reminded me this story even existed.

Finding Corvo was a lot easier than it probably should've been, but all I needed to do was go to the Hound Pits Pub in my special dress.

 _He_ hasn't left my side since we escaped the Golden Cat. Won't give an explanation beyond, 'I can barely see when Billy is with you, without her, I can see nothing at all. I have to be present.'

So I'm guessing he just can't wait to see how I'll fuck up the timeline.

Corvo's sitting in Pierro's workshop. Alone.

Just sort of pouring over a map on the floor. Not like he's working but just…just staring at it.

I can only imagine what's going through his head. Thinking about Emily, no doubt.

I'm wearing the dress, so I can see Sider when he appears in a puff of rock and smoke behind Corvo.

He's not saying anything to him, just…kind of staring down at him. Like he kinda does at Billy sometimes. Speculative, but blank.

I wonder how he really feels about his chosen. Or… _are_  they chosen by  _him_?

This…it's not like the Void makes him choose and picks which people, right? And if it does…god, that's another amount of control he doesn't have, that was lost or never there to begin with-

"Lord Protector?" I say his name quietly. Hoping not to startle him.

He looks up, obviously unsurprised. Probably heard me coming. His face is so…haggard.

Tired-  _exhausted_ …with dark rings around his eyes…

"I have something important to discuss with you concerning the child empress, if you don't mind?" I glance around the workshop, but Piero's…nowhere to be seen.

"What about Emily?" he's like, suddenly right in my face.

And I mean  _suddenly_. It's like I blinked and he'd moved from the floor to right in front of me, staring down at me from like inches away.

I step back a little and cough, clearing my throat. "Like I said, I have information and I don't want to talk about it…here. Do you have somewhere secure where I can speak freely?"

Sider is behind me again, I can feel him breathing down my neck. He's probably trying to keep me from backing out the door. He can't stop me, but he can suggest it would be a bad idea to do so by standing in my way.

Corvo's staring over my shoulder.

I feel Sider's breath move to the side of my face, so he's either looking up and to the side or he's staring at me from really close again, like he tends to do.

He doesn't seem to understand personal boundaries. At least, not when it comes to me, for some reason. I remember him popping up really close in Dishonored 2 a lot when he became more dynamic and everything, but…he never really seemed to do it deliberately and if he did- it was only momentary.

"Yeah he'll be coming with us," I say.

Corvo stares at me and then his eyes dart down and I lift my hand for his perusal.

No mark.

His eyes narrow, "who is she?"

He's asking Sider. So I don't answer. I just look to the side, and get caught in the inky darkness again.

Doesn't really occur to me how it might look to Corvo until Sider speaks. "Our Emily is safer in softer hands."

Ah that cryptic shit again. And now I'm blushing and stepping away from him.

His expression twists a little but goes back to normal. Is he upset I moved? "Darcy Donnel doesn't break promises she makes to children," he says while staring at Corvo- then…

Disappears…

I'm with Corvo, so he doesn't need to be present until I leave, I guess.

The self-consciousness is melting away to be replaced with regret now, I guess. What the fuck. He was here two seconds ago and he's been up in my face for  _days_  but now I miss him already?

This isn't normal. Is it? It doesn't feel normal.

"Follow me," Corvo says and turns to walk out of Pierro's workshop. Round the front side, where I didn't want to go so no one would see me.

I guess I'll be basically invisible next to Corvo? Maybe?

Walking out and standing in front of him as he looks up- I realize what he's going to do a second before he grabs my arm.

"Wait-wait!" but it's useless.

The next moment, I'm lying in a heap at Corvo's feet on top on the roof of Pierro's place.

Well, that was unpleasant.

See I discovered a thing. The Marked- their magic…kind of makes me sick?

"Teleporting a brick wall would've been less of a strain, my dear Corvo," the Outsider's voice echoes from around us.

And I see that Corvo is gasping for air and clutching at his chest.

"Yeah…don't do that again," I croak.

Once I've caught my breath and Corvo's recovered from the blink- we both get up and stagger toward where Emily is eventually ensconced, in-game.

That will never happen if I have anything to say about it.

Once we're settled and I'm reassured by Corvo that there's no one around, because he just used his Dark Vision to make sure- I tell him what I came here for.

His eyes did this…thing, where they turned black, for like a second. Not like the Outsider's- just the whites turned black. I wonder if he borrows the Outsider's eyes when he does that?

"I can bring you Emily, but I won't bring her here," I gesture at the room around us. "Your new friends aren't as friendly as you think."

"And I should trust you over them, why?" he asks, in a gravelly undertone.

"The Outsider gave you your powers, when you were at your lowest," I say. "And those men let you out of your cage. Meanwhile,  _I_  was actually focused on the person who matters most, here." I incline my head, "Emily."

Going to the Cat wasn't just about survival- I could've caught a ship or something after stealing coin from an abandoned house or whatever and been safe from the Plague. I mean, there have to be people willing to smuggle you for enough money.

I just couldn't leave well enough alone.

"And what would you want in return for this service?" he asks cynically.

"In order to make Emily safe, you have to go along with the plans the others have," I reply. "You have to disable or eliminate the targets they set out for you, but I have other ways you can carry out those missions that might be…better, in the long run. Also…you'll have to kill or disable all of them when you've finished with the Lord Regent. Havelock, Martin, Pendleton…"

"What happens if I don't?" He tilts his head and stares at me with such…piercing intensity.

"Lydia, Cecilia, Wallace- a lot of other people, will be in danger. A lot of them will be rounded up and killed," I begin. "They'll poison you, take Emily and start murdering each other. All that will be left is Havelock, stubbornly clinging to power. He can either commit suicide…or you can kill him."

Swallowing and bracing myself, I press my lips together and then speak softly. "If it gets that far, Emily's life would be in danger. You might not be fast enough to save her."

There's a silence after that, and Corvo gets up to pace- thinking it over.

"And you?" he stops and speaks to the air, with his left hand extended, mark up. "What's  _your_  take on this?"

I'm a little surprised that he'd ask.

"Who do you trust?" A whisper again, and Sider doesn't show himself. "Often those who need you most, trust you least. And those who trust you most, hesitate to ask for help. Do you prefer being needed or being trusted?"

I huff, "you can be both."

"You are not family, or a lover," he whispers quietly- near my ear. Corvo doesn't react to it so I think he can't hear. "You are a stranger to him."

Sighing, I turn my head and my lashes flutter a little at the feeling of the cool air on my cheek. He's not there, but I can feel the Void's presence right next to me.

"Where would you be willing to take Emily?" Corvo asks.

I'm a little startled. "I. Well. Cecilia has a secret apartment. You can check under her bunk for the key. I could take her there and you could enlist Cecilia and Callista to keep her secret and safe. You could impress upon them the need for secrecy and you could imply that in return, you could protect Callista's uncle Geoff Curnow from the Overseer who wants him dead. And Cecilia would probably just volunteer, she's nice like that."

"How do you know all of this?" he asks and then his gaze darts around the room. "You aren't marked…but somehow he's given you this knowledge, hasn't he?"

I make a face, "I…guess you could say that? I'm not really sure how to explain it so you'd understand."

"If it's that confusing, I don't  _want_  to understand," he says and then shivers. "Can only imagine how knowledge from the Void could…twist your mind."

"It's not exactly like that, but okay," I reply with a smile. "Now…we have to make plans for when I bring Emily- and it has to be  _right_  before you go after the Lord Regent. There needs to be a way you can signal me when you're done with…well. You'll be going after the Overseer soon, so the next job after that, once it's finished- I bring Emily here to you. And you tell everyone you have her, but that you're keeping her hidden."

"And when they don't like that, if they're as keen on betraying me as you say?" he says.

"You promise them all a place in the Imperial staff. Giving them advisor positions to the young would-be-Empress. And offer to instate Havelock as the new Regent," I tell him. "He'll  _love_  that."

The darkening expression on Corvo's face, probably matches mine.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey…you haven't been around all day. Are you okay?" Didn't take much walking around and looking to find him, tonight.

He's sitting on the ledge of a large jagged rock face. I feel anxious, even though I know he can't fall. He doesn't answer me, just stares off into the Void with that neutral expression on his face. But I can  _feel_  him listening to me.

Sometimes he just does it quietly, without looking at me. After all, this form isn't really physical. He's basically everywhere in the Void. He just remembers looking that way, or…hell, he could've constructed his body just to interact with people.

Swallowing and deciding to take a risk that likely wouldn't pay off- I say, "I missed you."

He disappears and reappears an inch from my face- it's very sudden and startling and I end up taking a half-step backward.

His expression twists and the whispers get louder in that way they do right before he whisks off somewhere else.

So I grasp the collar of his jacket and pull myself closer, "no no, don't…go anywhere. You just…startled me."

The relief in his expression is very telling…and… "Do you… _have_  to move away if someone seems scared or uncomfortable around you?"

His head tilts. But he says nothing.

"Another restriction of the void is that maybe you can't talk about it?" I guess.

There's a moment when I swear his mouth is curved in a smile, but then it's gone again and…

And we're standing with barely an inch between us and he's just…looking at me.

He's as blank-faced as ever, but there's emotion in his eyes. It's just impossible to decipher.

"Why do you get so close?" I ask, carefully. "And just…stare at me?"

That flicker of a snarl flashes across his face and he stays silent.

"You can't…tell me?" I say. "Can you communicate it to me in that cryptic way you can talk to the others?"

He pauses and seems to struggle internally. I can't see any sign of the struggle on his face, but he's so…he's vibrating with tension.

"Don't try to force it if you can't," I say and sigh. "They really took everything from you, didn't they?"

"Not everything," he says, finally. "But enough."

"So what do you have left?" I ask.

"My voice, when it works," he says. And it's just…so human.

He doesn't normally talk like that- doesn't use sarcasm. So far as I've seen.

I notice something else, too…his being isn't doing that…vibrate-y all over the place thing that it does.

Releasing his jacket and watching him- he starts to blur around the edges as if-

Taking his hand, makes it stop. "What is that?"

"Even if I knew what you were talking about, I likely couldn't tell you," he replies.

Right. "Um…okay, so can you…answer questions if it's not about…that?"

"That?" he says.

"The Void, and…magical things…" I flounder for an explanation and then just flick my wrist. "Can you tell me…why you're always around me? Without giving anything magical away so you don't get all…choked up?"

"I've told you before, I can't see you unless you're with one of my marked," he replies. "But even through their eyes, I don't…see you, correctly."

"What do you see when you look at me through their eyes?" I ask.

"Billy sees…things that aren't there," he says. "Intrigue, mystery, but not the kind you have. Something different. It turns you into something you're not. And Corvo…is just confused by you. You look ordinary, like any other person. Strange, but ordinary."

"And if you're there with me, you just see…me? Normally?" I ask. "That…kinda makes sense, I guess. Looking through other people's eyes will give you their perspectives, and all that."

"Depends on what you believe 'normally' to mean," he says. "I see you how I see you. I can't see anything directly, but the Void allows me…something. 'Seeing' is the only word you would understand."

"Okay…" I trail off and sigh, squeezing his hand. "So do you have to be really close to me just to be able to 'see' me?"

"No." He answers, so simply and succinctly, with a twitch to his lips that…that…I saw.

"You're holding still," I observe with wide eyes and reach up with my free hand to touch his face- didn't even occur to me not to.

And as soon as I realize I probably shouldn't have done that-

He's already leaning in to my touch. His skin is so cool and soft, like silk. It's almost like what I'd imagine a shadow feels like. Almost not there at all.

Still staring at me with those eyes filled with an emotion I can't name. And I can't…

I want to, but I can't. Everything in me is screaming that he can't even talk about what he does or doesn't want- I shouldn't trust that his eyes can communicate anything to me either.

"I'll find a way to fix this, you know," I tell him. "I remember…things…but I'm not sure if they're right and…there's complications with the…"

Inhaling deeply and then sighing, I curl my fingers around the back of his neck and pull him closer, pressing my forehead against his.

Something, some tension, seeps out of the air around us. It feels…like relief.

"I'll find a way." I'm not leaving him at the mercy of the Void. It's had many representatives over time. It can give this one up, I can…find another. Somehow. Someone who might actually  _want_  to be here. "I'll get you out."

I mean…how hard could it be?


	13. Chapter 13

Teaching a tiny empress how to resolve problems without some actionable examples is near-impossible.

She'd ask questions that I didn't have the answers to and couldn't get without going out with her in tow. But I wasn't risking her getting sick.

So I sent Billie on an errand. A small thing. To get some writing implements and plenty of paper.

And then we played a pen and paper RPG game together. Like dungeons and dragons, but set in the Dishonored Universe.

Emily  _loved_  it. But she kept asking when the Outsider was going to show up in the game and I'm a little concerned about that. I know she's clever enough not to get caught being so excited about his existence…but I'm also worried she might be thinking he's something he's not.

Like a hero, or…something.

So in the next campaign, I made him the villain. But it went wrong. Because it always does. When you give your players infinite choices and consequences…they find ways around the rules. And they make things happen the way they want them to.

I didn't twist his character or anything, I just portrayed him with a kind of whimsical, gleeful in chaos kind of nature…which is kind of just… _him_. And I wrote him taunting her character in the narrative with choices she'd made and things that'd happened to her, because that's what he  _does_.

But instead of perceiving him as the bad guy like most people would, she did what  _I_  would do and critically examined her behavior and his before deciding he was pissed off that she'd killed too many people. So on her next mission she only killed the boss and no one else.

I had to write faithful to his character, so he approved. Of course. Anyone who can move through the world creating change without causing a lot of carnage along the way interested him. Whether because he liked that they were fundamentally good or just because it was more interesting and more of a challenge for them…who really knows.

Maybe I'm just too sympathetic to him. I think I like him too much to convincingly write him as an actual villain.

He thought the game was interesting, I think. He was sitting there, next to us, watching her as she played. Rapt with attention whenever a choice was presented to her. The fictional Outsider made him side-eye me though I don't know if he was amused, insulted or just checking for emotional reactions to his presence.

I didn't do the voices or anything, though that probably would've been more fun for her…that kinda thing always made me feel awkward. And it was fun enough to introduce her to her first rpg game.

Now…now I'm just kinda lying in bed, contemplating what to do next with Emily curled up next to me in a heap of blankets.

Ever since we left the Golden Cat she doesn't like sleeping alone. Even if I'm just pacing in the same room, she likes knowing someone's there. Sometimes Billie sleeps in here instead.

That little charm I found on Emily lets me see him even without the dress, though he's kinda faded and faraway. I put it on a necklace and surrounded the bone with lace. Popped some pretty tiny stones on it. Not gems, just…shiny little pebbles. Actually looks really pretty.

He sits in the corner of the room, in the windowsill, at night. Just sort of watching us- but not watching us. Looking at us, but seeing something else. I can just tell when he's looking or  _being_  elsewhere.

Tonight, I can't sleep. Seeing as Corvo was supposed to contact us by now and I'm a worrywart by nature…I mean- it's maybe a  _day_  past the time I would've expected. He might be healing up or…anything.

He's not dead. The Outsider would've reacted to that. I think.

"Hey." I walk over to the window seat and sit opposite him. "Looking for Corvo? Daud?"

He blinks once and then seems to really see me. "You've begun to notice the patterns. I didn't realize anyone else could perceive them. I was looking, not for anything. Not for anyone."

"Looking at the Void?" I ask. Curious as to…why.

"Do you know what absolute nothingness looks like?" he asks. "I do." His voice is almost a whisper. "It's horrible and beautiful in equal measure."

"I can imagine," I say lowly. Just imagining the concept of nothingness. No pain, no selfishness or harm. But also no happiness or love. Horrible but beautiful.

"What you imagine is likely nothing like what I see, but I'm sure you at least grasp the edges of it," he says. "You're strange that way."

"Strange?" I ask, quirking my mouth to the side. "Says the whale god in my window."

His mouth bows a little but it's not like a real smile. "What is strange to one may be normal to another. What is unheard of to some is everyday for others. You're strange because I've never encountered anyone like you. That doesn't mean they haven't existed. I simply hadn't taken notice."

"Yeah you tend to ignore just about everyone who's not a specific type of person though I still haven't figured out the whole formula, yet." I shrug. "I'll guess eventually if I keep at it, though."

He tilts his head at me. "I wonder that you even want to know."

"You're still a person, no matter how much the Void has taken from you or how much it controls you." I say. "I find you fascinating  _as_  a person. Want to get to know you better and see how you tick. That's how it always is with me and people I find interesting. I can't really help myself." I shrug. "I'm just wired this way."

He nods once and then his head tilts and he stares at me intensely. I get the feeling he's waiting for something, but I dunno what.

We pass most of the night just kind of sitting there, staring at each other. I've started to care less and less that it might look weird to an outside observer.


	14. Chapter 14

Waking up to a knife in your face isn't as startling as the movies make it seem.

It's shocking and terrifying, but you don't jump. You don't scream. You just…go utterly still.

"Well…what do we have here," the voice that speaks those words is…familiar.

"Daud," I greet him with a sleep-roughened voice. "Okay, either 'Sider sent you, or you followed Billie here. And since I'm waking up to a knife in my face, I'm guessing it's the latter."

"Smart girl," he replies. "Why is my right hand woman hiding you here, with the little Empress? Far as I know that girl was in the hands of the people who hired me to kill her mother."

"Are you trying to pretend at some kind of loyalty to the people who paid you last?" I inquire. "Or are you trying to figure out if we're part of some kinda conspiracy?"

"Heh." He sits back on his haunches and the knife moves away from my face.

Really fucking lucky I decided to sleep out on the sofa tonight and that Billie is sleeping with Emily in the bed because if I'd woken up to a knife hovering over me, knowing Emily was there- he'd already be eating that knife.

"You took my bone charm," I observe casually. "Is he still here?"

"This thing?" he holds up the sliver of bone, decorated with lace and smooth pebbles. "Disappeared as soon as I took it off ya."

"Oh, shit." I sit up and look around. "No. No! You hear me, no!"

"What are you on about?" He hasn't moved, but he is ready to spring at me if I make a move, I can tell.

"Sider!" I hiss. "Don't you dare call him here!"

I know what he's doing. I know why he'd pop away. One of two reasons. Either I'm about to die, and he's lost interest- which isn't likely because he'd probably still want to watch-

Or he went off to find someone who can stop Daud from killing me.

Meaning Corvo might be on the warpath over here right  _now_.

"You talkin' to  _him_?" he asks. "Like he'll listen." He scoffs sardonically. "Who are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid, I just don't want this confrontation happening yet," I cross my arms. "Did you even deal with Delilah yet?"

There's a stillness to him as he regards me. " _He_  tell you about Delilah?"

"Yes and no," I reply. "Did. You. Deal. With. Her."

"She's dead," he says. Dispassionately. "Killed her, not too long ago."

"Great," I sigh. "So we don't have to worry about her for another decade or so." I mutter to myself. "Are you still being eaten alive by guilt for what you did to Jessamine?"

He stands then, and looms over me. "Listen to me, girl-"

"Don't." I speak low, and I  _feel_  dangerous. "If you want to intimidate me, you'll have to do better than looming and growling. My stepfather was  _really_  good at those two things, and now seeing you doing  _that_ …." I stand from the sofa, slowly unfolding myself until I can stare up into Daud's eyes. "Is filling me with unspent rage. So by all means, continue…if you don't wanna know why she was different."

He spends a few moments staring down at me with narrowed eyes, the threat of a knife so close- at his side. I would be gutted before I could plead for mercy, if he wanted.

But he's curious.

"Alright then," he says. Stepping back and taking a seat on another nearby sofa. Broken down and dusty as it is, he doesn't seem to care. "If you're so smart and you know so much, tell me. And maybe I won't decide to kill you."

I feel a whisper of cool air and hear the sound of the sighing shadows. But…I'm not wearing the bone charm. I can also see Daud's eyes flick next to me.

"Can I have my necklace back? Please?" I ask. "I know he's there but I can't see him and that…unnerves me."

Daud grunts and tosses the necklace at me. I catch it easily and the Outsider is suddenly visible next to me on the Sofa. Sitting oddly. One foot planted on the ground, the other on the seat. Hands planted on the seat next to his foot, palm down.

It's a very…agitated looking position.

Moving before I can really think, I shift to face him and put my hand on his cheek, the one not holding the charm. "I'm fine. See? You didn't call him, did you?"

His eyes flicker with something and he leans into my touch like he did the last time I did this. "There are limitations to my whims."

"So you tried and it wouldn't let you," I say.

"Bloody hell," Daud says from somewhere off to our left.

Neither of us really pays him any mind.

"Didn't you see this coming?" I ask gently. "You should've known it'd be fine."

"I. Can't. See. You." He says very slowly and deliberately.

And I catch onto something I didn't before. "But. Wait, you said you'd seen other outcomes-"

"I saw Billie. I saw Emily. You are. Alone." He says.

That's…wow. I never thought that's what he meant. I thought he meant he  _physically_  couldn't see me unless there were another pair of eyes on me-

He's been trying to see into the future to see what happens to me and he can't when I'm alone. And I think he's  _scared_  that I could've just died, and he never saw it coming.

It doesn't necessarily have to be about  _me_. It could just be that he's always enjoyed a certain amount of control in his existence as the Outsider- and losing that little last bit of it is freaking him out.

"You can't see through Daud?" I ask. "He's marked, too."

"Not anymore," Daud says.

And that makes me look at him.

He's pulling off his left glove to show me the unblemished skin there. No mark in sight. "It disappeared when I escaped the Void after I killed Delilah. Don't ask me how."

" _Delilah_ ," Sider whispers and leans back. Shifting into a less hunted posture but still seeming to be humming with tension- shrugging away from my hand. "You killed her in the Void and the sparkling edges of her caught on the fabric of the world."

"It's supposed to take longer for her to appear," I say with some breathless fright. "She wasn't supposed to find that place until later, or at least-"

I don't know when she found that place. Only that she-

"If I kill the piece of her that she left behind before she can come back, will she die for good?" I ask.

He looks at me with his fathomless eyes and disappears in a haze of black smoke and a whisper of shadowy light. " _Let's hope dear Corvo is ready to let go._ "

**Author's Note:**

> Remember to comment, kudos, or comment just to say 'kudos'!
> 
> The more comments I get, the more engaged I am, which means more updates. Not trying to hold you hostage or anything, it's just...I get bored easily.


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